Obama Slams Shutdown Efforts: They’re ‘Trying To Mess With Me’

President Barack Obama on Friday slammed Republican efforts to force a government shutdown if Congress doesn’t vote to defund his signature health care law, arguing that members of Congress are slighting their constituents while trying to “mess with” him.

“Unfortunately, right now the debate that’s going on in Congress is not meeting the test of helping middle class families. It’s just — they are not focused on you,” he said in a speech on the economy in Kansas City, Mo. “They are focused on politics. They are focused on trying to mess with me. They are not focused on you.”

The continuing resolution being debated in Congress will fund the government until Dec. 15.

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Catherine Thompson is a senior editor for Talking Points Memo in New York City. She came to the site in 2013 and reported on national affairs. Previously, she worked as a research assistant to investigative reporter Wayne Barrett. She can be reached at catherine@talkingpointsmemo.com.